Apart from any other new navy vessels or yachts that the Government plans to build or get rid of, like the British fishing fleet, the new HMS Pinafore has already been sailing the high seas for some years now.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K. C. B., First Lord of the Admiralty, a lawyer and politician, was a great visionary predicting over 150 years ago not only Brexit but also the recent fate of British fishing and farming:
I learnt some tricks from the Ipswich witch -
If you want to win on votes scratch a bigot's itch.
Said the Oxley moron we'll breed bunyips
They say her face launched a thousand fish and chips!
The bunyip is a creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology. We will be eating them soon in the UK once they have made the trip from Australia on HMS Pinafore to the highest Australian and Brexit animal welfare standards. The Oxley moron is nowadays the Oxford moron of the Oxford Five (Year Plan) or Oxytoxic. Another more recent Joseph, Stalin surely could not have imagined even in his wildest fantasies that his agricultural and economic policies and political ideologies would be so formidably implemented by the British Conservative Party of all people.
Sir Joseph also provided a timeless analysis of the character of (British) government and national leadership qualities by singing (emphasis added):
I am the monarch of the sea,
The ruler of the Queen's Navee,
Whose praise Great Britain loudly chants.
COUSIN HEBE. And we are his sisters, and his cousins and his aunts!
RELATIVES. And we are his sisters, and his cousins, and his aunts!
SIR JOSEPH. When at anchor here I ride,
My bosom swells with pride,
And I snap my fingers at a foeman's taunts;
COUSIN HEBE. And so do his sisters, and his cousins, and his aunts!
ALL. And so do his sisters, and his cousins, and his aunts!
SIR JOSEPH. But when the breezes blow,
I generally go below,
And seek the seclusion that a cabin grants;
COUSIN HEBE. And so do his sisters, and his cousins, and his aunts!
ALL. And so do his sisters, and his cousins, and his aunts!
His sisters and his cousins,
Whom he reckons up by dozens,
And his aunts!
SONG — SIR JOSEPH.
When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an Attorney's firm.
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,
And I polished up the handle of the big front door.
I polished up that handle so carefullee
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — He polished up that handle so carefullee
That now he is the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Sir Joseph. As office boy I made such a mark
That they gave me the post of a junior clerk.
I served the writs with a smile so bland,
And I copied all the letters in a big round hand —
I copied all the letters in a hand so free,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — He copied all the letters in a hand so free,
That now he is the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Sir Joseph. In serving writs I made such a name
That an articled clerk I soon became;
I wore clean collars and a brand-new suit
For the pass examination at the Institute,
And that pass examination did so well for me,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — And that pass examination did so well for he,
That now he is the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Sir Joseph. Of legal knowledge I acquired such a grip
That they took me into the partnership.
And that junior partnership, I ween,
Was the only ship that I ever had seen.
But that kind of ship so suited me,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — But that kind of ship so suited he,
That now he is the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Sir Joseph. I grew so rich that I was sent
By a pocket borough into Parliament.
I always voted at my party's call,
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
I thought so little, they rewarded me
By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — He thought so little, they rewarded he
By making him the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Sir Joseph. Now landsmen all, whoever you may be,
If you want to rise to the top of the tree,
If your soul isn't fettered to an office stool,
Be careful to be guided by this golden rule —
Stick close to your desks and never go to sea,
And you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navee!
CHORUS. — Stick close close to your desks and never go to sea,
And you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navee!
Turning one eye like Nelson has been replaced or complemented by turning not just one lie... Turning coats has of course always been highly fashionable in politics, a timeless classic of politics, maybe the oldest persistently continuous fashion in the world.
